On Sept, 25, 2013 a group of Alpharetta Police officers broke into the residence of Amy Bramuchi without a warrant to do a wellness check

14 Alpharetta Police officers, 3 firefighters and 2 medics were dispatched to her homeAfter finding her and reporting that she was OK, the officers refused to leave or to tell her why they were there

Amy called 911 to find out why officers had broken into her home but the dispatcher did not tell her

Amy ordered the officers out of her home more than ten times but they refused to withdraw

A medic then attempted to force her into an assessment in her own home against her will.

The medic then threatened to remove her from her house against her will as officers stood by.

Amy refused, ordered the medic out of her house and retreated back to her bedroom.

Officers followed her into her bedroom where they shot her 3 times.

Amy suffered permanently debilitating injuries from the attack by police.

Amy harmed no one during the attack when she was shot 3 times.

On April 14, 2015 the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office charged Amy with 4 felonies resulting from the attack on her by their clients, the Alpharetta Police.

On June 26, a Fulton County Court issued gag order against Amy that prohibited her from publishing information about her case on social media.

On July 10, Amy was jailed without bond on a charge that she pointed a gun at her new roommate but no gun was found after exhaustive police searches.

Amy has no record in Georgia of ever physically harming anyone or being convicted of any crime.

The Unbelievable Story of Amy Bramuchi

ALPHARETTA, GA – Around 6:20pm on Sept. 25, 2013, a group of Alpharetta Police officers, broke into Amy Bramuchi’s attractive townhome without a warrant. The police had received an out of town call at about 6pm on their regular dispatch line from a caller who said that she may have committed suicide with her gun. Ms. Bramuchi, who has a permit for her firearms, takes medication and was in bed because she did not feel well. The caller gave Alpharetta police her phone number and they claim to have tried to contact her but her phone shows that she received no calls from them. A total of 14 police officers, 3 fire fighters and 2 medics were dispatched to her townhome for what was supposedly a simple wellness check.

Lt. Trent Lindgren, the on scene officer in charge of the attack, decided to break into Amy Bramuchi’s town home and Capt. Robert Wessel approved the attack. Lindgren broke open the door and a group of officers, including Mark Glass and Matt Stone, entered the residence. They cleared the lower level and went upstairs to the bedroom level. When Amy Bramuchi woke up and opened her bedroom door she was confronted by Officer Glass who was pointing a gun directly at her. Glass asked to see her hands and she showed them to him. She asked why he was there but he did not answer. He frisked her and told her to come downstairs. Glass reported that he had located her and Lindgren told other officers that she was OK. At that point, there was neither probable cause nor exigent circumstances for officers to remain in the residence under the Emergency Aid Doctrine. Both are required for an exception to 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure. However, Lindgren did not end the wellness check.

Ms. Bramuchi came downstairs but could not get Lindgren or any other officer to tell her why police were there. When she saw that her front door had been broken and her townhome was no longer secure she became angry, began cursing and repeatedly demanded that the officers leave. Here frustration grew as Lt. Lindgren still refused to withdraw the officers or state the purpose of their break-in.

Ms. Bramuchi then called 911 and explained to the dispatcher that she had a large group of officers who had broken down her door and damaged the inside of her house. She said she wanted to know why they were there. Instead of getting the shift commander on the line, the dispatcher gave her no information and told her to talk with the officer in charge at the scene. That was Lt. Lindgren, the same officer who refused to answer her or withdraw the officers. Ms. Bramuchi continued cursing and ordered the officers out ten times during the 911 call. She agreed during the 911 call to talk with Lt. Lindgren alone but Lindgren still refused to withdraw the officers from the scene, further increasing her frustration.

Ms. Bramuchi went outside briefly to get officers out of her house and returned. Officer Stone finally told her they had gotten a suicide threat call that referenced one of her text messages. She asked if the officers had seen the text message and Stone replied “No”. Nevertheless, medic Kevin Seiler entered the residence and tried to force Ms. Bramuchi into an on scene involuntary medical assessment without stating his legal authority. She refused, told him she was not suicidal and ordered him to get out of her house. He then threatened to forcefully remove her for a psychological evaluation which angered Ms. Bramuchi even more. Lindgren did not attempt to control the medic or state what authority he had to remain in her house.

She retreated back to her bedroom and slammed the door to try and get away from the aggressors who refused to withdraw and leave but the bedroom door did not lock. Officers Glass and Stone followed her back upstairs and entered her bedroom against her will. When she picked up her unloaded gun they shot her 3 times.

The shooting attack by Alpharetta Police inflicted permanent debilitating injuries on Amy Bramuchi who they allegedly wanted to “save” from committing a suicide that was never attempted in the first place. She suffered a collapsed lung, shattered sternum and fractured ribs. She also lost 12 inches of intestines and had a lung lobe removed during about 13 hours of surgery. Ms. Bramuchi did not harm anyone in attempting to defend herself. The aggressors, Stone, Glass and Lindgren, are still on the Alpharetta Police force.

Amy Bramuchi received permanent, debilitating injuries when she was attacked and shot 3 times in her home. She needs your help to defeat the criminal charges so that she can initiate her civil suit. 100% of all money donated goes directly to Amy’s defense and her survival.

AMY Bramuchi IS CHARGED WITH CRIMES

On April 14, 2015, a-year-and a-half after being shot three times, Amy Bramuchi was charged with aggravated assault, two counts of obstruction and possession of a firearm with intent to commit a felony. All charges stemmed from the Alpharetta Police attack on her. She turned herself in on April 24 and was jailed for a day until her father arranged to post a standard bond.

Officer Glass contended that he shot Ms. Bramuchi after she picked up a gun and pointed it at Officer Stone. That was when the officers entered her bedroom where she retreated after she ordered them out of the house more than ten times. Ms. Bramuchi legally owns a gun that she picked up but insists it was never loaded and never pointed at anyone. History and facts support her version of events rather than the police version.

Amy has no record in Georgia of ever physically harming anyone or being convicted of a crime. A GBI investigation confirmed her gun was not loaded and she had no reason to point an unloaded gun at an officer. Also, trajectories from her wounds support her contention that she had bent over to pick up a clip and was not in the shooting stance claimed.

The argument of whether or not Amy Bramuchi pointed a gun at an officer is actually a moot point under Georgia law for this case. Use of Force law gives her the right to defend herself against aggressors who, in this case, already violated the Emergency Aid Doctrine by not having probable cause and exigent circumstances to be there. Stone and Glass had no right of self-defense since the same Use of Force laws prevent them from using force both on the grounds that they are the aggressors and again on grounds that they provoked Ms. Bramuchi so that they could use their force against her. [O.C.G.A. § 16-3-21]

Furthermore, the Defense of Habitation Act also gives Ms. Bramuchi the same right to forcefully defend her property against aggressors who refuse to withdraw, including those with badges. The act cites three conditions under which force can be legally used if any one of the conditions is met. By this act, Amy Bramuchi was justified in pointing a gun at any officer in her house on not one, but all three conditions.

Alpharetta police had forcibly broken into her house, she was aware that they were forcibly (and unlawfully) present and she was aware that they were threatening to commit the felony of kidnapping her against her will. [O.C.G.A. § 16-3-23]

UNCONSTITUTIONAL GAG ORDER AGAINST AMY

On Friday June 26 2015, Fulton County attempted to revoke Amy Bramuchi’s bond in an “emergency” hearing. Judge Alford J. Dempsey Jr. approved four Rule 22 video recording request forms that his judicial assistant had sent to both security checkpoints on Thursday. On Friday, the forms were missing and camera entry was denied. After the Public Information Officer (PIO) resolved that problem, deputies denied camera entry again at the courtroom. Finally, the judicial assistant ordered the deputies to let the cameras in but by that time two camera operators from two local news stations including 11Alive had departed.

Six Alpharetta police officers testified at the hearing (Ofc. Unger, Valone, Robinson, Wessel, Lt. Little, Capt. West). They stated they had been “harassed” by some of Amy Bramuchi’s comments or emails since her April indictment. Their two hour testimony at taxpayer expense included some hearsay and a variety of child-like accusations. All officers admitted that Amy Bramuchi had never threatened them with any type of bodily harm. However, the testimony was adequate to show that Ms. Bramuchi was enough of a nuisance for them to justify a bond condition ordering her not to communicate with police again except in case of an emergency.

To support harassment claims Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Lauren McAuley tried to introduce an audio recording received by police from an unidentified individual who was not Amy Bramuchi. That was finally disallowed as irrelevant. McCauley also falsely contended that Bramuchi’s bond had special conditions but was unable to produce a copy of the bond she claimed to have negotiated. Judge Dempsey produced the standard bond and repeatedly explained that it had no special conditions. The warrant of record had two separate file dates was falsified with special conditions that did not exist on the actual bond.

In addition, McAuley falsely implied that Amy Bramuchi had posted an entire GBI report on social media with personal officer information. Judge Dempsey determined that no such personal information from the improperly redacted report was posted. McAuley published and distributed postings from the copyrighted website, Georgia CopBlock. None of Amy Bramuchi’s postings were found by the court to be threatening to any officer.

Amy’s public defender, Monique Keane, referenced the above false allegations in her closing argument and told the judge that “if your honor would be inclined to modify the [bond] terms… Ms. Bramuchi would have no problem with the court’s direction.” Judge Dempsey then responded by imposing social media gag order conditions on Amy Bramuchi against her will. Those conditions state that she cannot disseminate or publish any information regarding the case on any social media in conflict with 1st Amendment protections.

AMY Bramuchi JAILED

WITHOUT BOND

The gag order against Amy Bramuchi limited her ability to obtain legal counsel and further stacked the deck against her chances for justice.

Amy Bramuchi remained free on bond until a 911 call was made on July 10 by her new roommate John Gordon Wyland. Mr. Wyland contended on the call that she had pointed a gun at his head several times. No gun was found after “exhaustive” police searches that even uncovered one of their spent .45 caliper shell casings from the original attack. Leftover ammunition from a gun that was confiscated after the original attack clearly did not match the gun that Mr. Wyland described. Mr. Wyland stated that she pointed the gun at him once again during the call but no other voice or any type of argument is heard in the background. Even if the charge is true, Mr. Wyland was not physically harmed in any way.

Mr. Wyland claimed that Ms. Bramuchi called 911 to report that he attacked her but no such call was found in an Open Records request. He also claimed he was her boyfriend although he had known her only two weeks. He stated on the 911 call that she wanted to evict him but did not explain why: Mr. Wyland admitted to several individuals that he attempted to pick the lock of Ms. Bramuchi’s bedroom.

Ms. Bramuchi had left her own home to avoid further conflict and was stopped in her car on her street by Alpharetta officer D. Capps. When asked what happened she said nothing since her new bond condition explicitly stated that she not have any communication with police except under an emergency. Officer Capps swore out a witness statement “from personal knowledge” that Ms. Bramuchi had committed Aggravated Assault and Possession of a Firearm with Intent to Commit a Felony. However, multiple searches that even included the K-9 unit found no gun and Capps did not even interview Mr. Wyland. Lt. Stewart, who performed the interview, decided there was probable cause.

Officer Capps had Ms. Bramuchi’s car towed from her own street and impounded with a police hold. That left Ms. Bramuchi having no access to the only asset with equity that she could use to obtain private legal counsel.

ADA McAuley immediately used the opportunity to indict Ms. Bramuchi without bond. This accomplished the objective McAuley failed to achieve at the June 26 hearing of sending Ms. Bramuchi to jail. There she can be pressured to gain her release by pleading guilty to a crime she did not commit. If she is found guilty on one of the original charges, her civil suit is voided.

A COVERUP FOR THE PERPETRATORS

Prior to the shooting Alpharetta Police appear to have violated the clear plain text of numerous laws, constitutional clauses, their own procedures and their oath of office as Georgia peace officers. U.S. Constitutional violations include failure to uphold the 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure, failure to provide the 14th Amendment right to due process and failure to protect 1st Amendments rights of free speech. Georgia Constitutional violations include failure to protect life, liberty, person and property. [Art. 1 Sec. 1] Legal violations include violations of the Emergency Aid and Use of Force doctrines and patient rights guidelines. [O.C.G.A. 37-3] Oath of office violations for Alpharetta peace officers include failing to protect lives and property, failure to maintain order, and failure to safeguard constitutional liberties for all. Alpharetta Police procedure violations include making unauthorized judgements, escalating a situation instead of taking steps to calm it, agitating and threatening an individual and failing to provide reassurance and appropriate care. [02-07]

Public Safety Director Gary George has held no one on the Alpharetta Police force publicly accountable for any aspect of the police violations that occurred during the September 25, 2013 attack. An investigation was conducted by former Internal Affairs Capt. Capt. Dennis Valone but Alpharetta Police refused to disclose the results. Capt. Robert Wessel who took control of the scene immediately after Ms. Bramuchi was critically wounded concluded that: “There was a proper escalation and deescalation of force and all departmental policies and procedures were followed. There were also no violations of state or federal law.” George concurred on the force in a statement carefully worded to avoid criminal negligence.

Current Internal Affairs Capt. Sanford West has blocked all Open Records requests for any substantive information about the incident. The only record that he has made publicly available about what happened is a “dummy” incident report from Lt. Lindgren that contains a description ending as soon as he breaks through the door of Ms. Bramuchi’s townhome. All actual first-hand accounts from officers on the scene were re-classified as Case Supplemental Reports to avoid public disclosure. The official position of Internal Affairs has been that all information normally available in the public domain can be withheld from the public because the incident is under investigation.

But Alpharetta Police have not only blocked the public from receiving public information, they have blocked Amy Bramuchi from receiving key pieces of information for her defense. Current blocked records include the body microphones from the 14 officers involved, the Incident Reports from the shooting Officers Glass and Stone, as well as the Incident Reports from the three firefighters on the scene.

THE MOTIVES & CONCLUSION

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard investigated the possible use of excessive force in the shooting and declined to bring charges against Glass and Stone. Howard stated in his October 9, 2013 letter to Director George Howard stated that his office found “no criminal conduct” in the actions of Officers Stone and Glass despite the legal case outlined above.

Why was Lt Trent Lindgren and others within the Alpharetta Police willing to commit so many violations in creating and escalating an attack that would intentionally provoke Amy Bramuchi into committing suicide or some other crime? Less than a year earlier, Ms Bramuchi caused Alpharetta police Lt. Dan Dreslinski to resign instead of being fired for his actions with her while on duty. Ms. Bramuchi turned him in for sexual activity after realizing he was on duty and she was misled that he had separated from his wife. Lindgren acknowledged that he was aware of the incident before the attack on Ms. Bramuchi. Lt. Dreslinksi served in the K-9 unit as a superior of Officer Lindgren who was promoted after Lt. Dreslinkski was forced to resign.

Amy Bramuchi’s life on earth has been destroyed. Her gruesome, permanently debilitating injuries make it impossible to continue her professional yoga instruction, personal training and massage therapy businesses. She has depleted all of her savings and has lost her attractive townhome that has her indoor and outdoor yoga studios.

Alpharetta police claim that this horrible incident occurred out of concern that Amy Bramuchi needed medical attention. However, after she was jailed without bond, the Fulton DA office made no visible effort to get her medical attention that their clients implied that she needed. Requests by family members that Ms. Bramuchi be moved to a medical facility remain unfulfilled at the time of this writing. Ms. Bramuchi has lived in Georgia most of her life and has no record here of ever physically harming anyone or being convicted of any crime.

Amy Bramuchi was jailed without bond on a charge where, even if true, no one was actually harmed. This has forced her to give up her attractively furnished townhome. It leaves her with no direct access to her meticulously detailed case records and she cannot use the equity in her impounded car for legal fees.

Fulton County Superior Court has imposed a social media gag order on Amy Bramuchi that is unlawful under 1st Amendment protections. This made it extremely difficult for her to tell the public about her story and obtain the private legal counsel she needed.

Amy Bramuchi received permanent, debilitating injuries when she was attacked and shot 3 times in her home. She needs your help to defeat the criminal charges so that she can initiate her civil suit. 100% of all money donated goes directly to Amy’s defense and her survival.